Rayman Origins
Rayman Origins is a platform game developed and published by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS and Microsoft Windows. The game was released on November 15, 2011 in North America, November 24, 2011 in Australia and November 25, 2011 in Europe for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii. It also was released for PlayStation Vita as launch title, with Nintendo 3DS and Microsoft Windows versions planned for release at a later date. The story follows Rayman, his friend Globox and two teensies as they fight Darktoons and other evil creatures that have infected the Glade of Dreams. Plot In the Glade of Dreams, a world created by the mysterious Bubble Dreamer, Rayman, his best friend Globox, and some Teensy friends are chilling out at the Bubble Dreamer's resting grounds, the Snoring Tree. However, their snoring disturbs an old granny from the Land of the Livid Dead, who retaliates by sending an evil army of horrendous creatures and the Darktoons across the world, capturing the Electoons that inhabit the world, imprisoning Betilla the Nymph and her sisters, and plunging the Glade into chaos. As a result, the ensuing disaster causes the Bubble Dreamer to go crazy and have nightmares. Although they are captured, Rayman and his friends are able to escape the Darktoons. They are then tasked by a Caster Teensy known as the Magician with gathering enough Electoons to cure the Bubble Dreamer and restore the Glade of Dreams. Their efforts to locate the Electoons allow them to gain access to the various lands of the Glade, rescuing the Nymphs along the way. Eventually, they make their way to a mysterious gate, which can only be opened by rescuing the Glade Kings, who have been turned into monsters as a result of Bubble Dreamer's nightmares. Upon freeing the Glade Kings, the Nymphs are able to open the stargate, granting Rayman access to a hideout in the land of Moody Clouds. There, they discover that their supposed friend, the Magician, is the one responsible for the Moody Clouds. He secretly admires Mr Dark, the villain of the original Rayman, and has been using the Lums given to him by the heroes to power his diabolical machines. The heroes chase after the Magician and fight against him in his escape airship, sending it crashing into the power source of his hideout. The resulting chain of events causes the hideout to explode, while Rayman and friends free-fall back to the Snoring Tree, where they proceed to resume their chilling out. If players manage to collect the ten ruby teeth throughout the game, they can gain access to the hellish Land of the Livid Dead, where another monster, a Nymph accidentally transformed by Bubble Dreamer's nightmares, awaits. Gameplay Rayman Origins is a side-scrolling platformer, simultaneously playable with up to four local players who may drop in or out at any time. Players can choose to control either Rayman, Globox or two Teensies, with additional costumes available as the game progresses. Players travel through each level, fighting enemies and rescuing imprisoned Electoons. As the game progresses, players gain new abilities such as running up walls, gliding in midair, swimming and shrinking in size to reach new areas. Certain segments also sees players riding a mosquito, where players can shoot enemies or suck them up and fire them. If a character is hit by an enemy or obstacle, he will inflate into a ballooned state until another player can bring him back into the game by slapping him, similar to New Super Mario Bros. Wii, although players can collect hearts that will protect them from one hit. However, if all players are inflated simultaneously, or if a character is hit during single play, play returns to the last checkpoint. Throughout each level, players can collect gold-coloured Lums, and when a character collects a Lum King it temporarily doubles the smaller Lums value. There are also Skull Coins placed in hidden or dangerous areas that are worth 25 Lums each should they be successfully collected. In order to progress through certain parts of the story, players need to free Electoons. The most common way to get Electoons is to free them from cages; there is one at the end of each level, with more to be found in hidden areas. More Electoons can be earned by collecting a certain amount of Lums within a level and clearing Time Trials that are unlocked after clearing a level once. Scoring high marks in either of these challenges can also earn medals and trophies. Players can also unlock special 'treasure chest' levels, in which they must chase a runaway treasure chest across a dangerous course in order to receive a ruby tooth. Completing all of the teeth grants access to the incredibly challenging Land of the Livid Dead. Development The game was officially announced at the end of Ubisoft's E3 2010 press conference as a downloadable episodic title for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade with release on PC, Nintendo 3DS, iPad, and iPhone "to be considered". The first episode was originally to be released by the end of 2010, but was delayed until 2011. Following a dearth of information in the new year, the project was confirmed as alive in April 2011. In May 2011, it was announced the title has been expanded to a full-retail title, with a tentative release of Q4 2011. The game's story was originally intended to be a prequel to the original game, detailing the origins of Rayman's adventures and the relationship with his friends. Eventually, the storyline was scrapped and instead became a sequel to the main series, with the 'Origins' title merely alluding to the return to the gameplay's sidescrolling roots. UbiArt Framework The game is the first title to use UbiArt Framework, an in-house graphics engine which allows artists to easily create content and then use it in an interactive environment. The artists only have to pose the model and edit the silhouette, as the software takes care of image distortion automatically. The main aim of this engine is to allow artists and designers focus on the art itself, without having to worry about technical aspects of game development. According to Yves Guillemot, only five people were working on the game when it was first announced. Ubisoft obtained a French government grant, dedicated to supporting the arts, for developing UbiArt tools. The engine is optimized for HD resolutions, allowing games to run in full 1080p HD at 60 frames per second. Critical Reception The game has received critical acclaim. Nintendo Power gave the game a score of 9.5/10, calling it 'a platforming masterpiece.' IGN also gave it a 9.5, saying that "Rayman Origins is the best looking platformer this generation and also the most fun." 1UP.com gave the game an A- Rank, praising its varied level design and calling it "the best 2D platformer not called Mario." Joystiq gave the game 5 stars out of 5, saying it "embodies the kind of creativity and craftsmanship that have been largely missing in 2D platfomers since their heyday in the 16-bit era." GameTrailers gave the game a score of 8.5. GameSpot named it Best Platformer of 2011. NintendoLife.com rated it 10/10 and called it "The very pinnacle of 2D platforming and undoubtedly one of the Wii’s very best games". Giant Bomb named Rayman Origins the tenth best game of 2011. Sales Despite its critical success Rayman Origins's sales didn't live up to expectations having sold only 50,000 copies in its first month. However, Ubisoft revealed that the game has been profitable and that they feel it "has the capacity to become a long-term seller for the company". For all consoles, Rayman Origins has sold 1.32 million copies. Links *Official website *''Rayman Origins'' on Steam Category:2011 video games Category:Most Wanted Games Category:Ps vita games Category:Pc Games